Publisher's Summary

Wholesome, intelligent, and enviably slender, Julie Larimore has been the spokesperson for Killer Body Weight Loss for almost seven years. Then suddenly she vanishes. While fighting off the media frenzy that surrounds Julie's disappearance, the company's maverick founder, Bobby Warren, starts his search for a new spokesmodel for Killer Body and finds the field is wide open.

The perfect fit...

American-born in spite of the title and accent she acquired from her estranged husband, Princess Gabriella Paquette is the picture of elegance and grace - and comfortable talking about the weight problem that has plagued her all her life. She's desperate for the job, because the princess is broke.

The near fit...

At one time Rochelle McArthur was a big TV star - but blondes fade fast and she's been fading for three years. The Killer Body deal would give her the chance to prove she's not over the hill. It's the perfect opportunity...as long as no one uncovers her dirty little secret.

The misfit... She is the most in-demand guest in the world of talk shows. And she knows that's because America wants to watch the woman who had the public affair with the married governor expose all her flaws - including her yo-yoing weight. But Tania Marie Camp is going to show them all.

In a world where beauty is the ultimate sales tool and honesty that rarest commodity of all, these women are about to learn what Julie Larimore learned the hard way: Some people would die for a killer body.

"You have to want the body" is the tagline for Killer Body Weight Loss and is one of three things associated with Julie Larimore, their spokesperson. Except Julie has vanished. This begins an avalanche of events that starts with a media whirlwind. Alternating between despair and nonchalance over Julie's disappearance, Bobby W., owner and founder of Killer Body, decides to hold a contest for Julie's replacement. Three candidates make the final cut and the reader becomes intimately involved with each of them. Who would you choose to replace Larimore? The penniless princess, the aging TV star, or the pudgy hippie? Someone doesn't want any of them.

What makes this book particularly striking is its ability to drop us into the center of our culture's obsession with weight loss and youth. Each of the three contestants struggles in her own way to achieve and maintain the killer body. What would they do to be Julie Larimore? What have they already done to emulate her? Bonnie Hearn Hill gets right at the heart of the matter and we emotionally identify with these women. By the end of the book, they all experience personal growth which is essential for any good novel.

Bonnie Hearn Hill is a master of suspense. Scene after scene takes us to the edge of our seat through the eyes of each character. Many times while I was driving I found myself crossing my fingers as they curled over the steering wheel. There was nothing more I could do to help the women. Of unique interest, which also demonstrates Hill's genius with the written word is our full involvement with Julie Larimore, who never utters a single word or is present in any scene. But we understand her completely. Brilliant.

Mozhan Marno does a nice job of narrating. Each chapter is told from a different point of view and Marno makes it easy enough to know who's talking.

This is a well crafted novel and worth the money. I highly recommend it.